Nation's most beloved investor married longtime girlfriend Astrid Menks on his 76th birthday in August. Had long promised to give away his fortune posthumously. Then in June announced he had irrevocably earmarked the majority of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to charity. At today's prices the gift is worth $31 billion. Believed to be the largest gift in history, it will go mostly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13; claimed $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value-investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia, learned to hunt for undervalued stocks. Bought control of textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965; added insurance underwriting for the investable float. Today holding company has insurance (Geico, General Re), apparel (Fruit of the Loom), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), home furnishings (R.C. Willey). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo. Acquired 5 new companies in 2005, including more insurance (Medical Protective), recreational vehicles (Forest River), new media (Business Wire). Despite massive gifts, the Oracle of Omaha is $6 billion richer than last year: Berkshire stock up 19% in past 12 months; since 1965 it has had a compound annual increase of 21.5%. Sermonizes on executive compensation: "Getting fired can produce a particularly bountiful payday for a CEO. He can 'earn' more in that single day, while cleaning out his desk, than an American worker earns in a lifetime of cleaning toilets. Today, in the executive suite, the all-too-prevalent rule is nothing succeeds like failure."

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